The present invention relates to an armature equipment included in a piping system, and more particularly to a device which is specifically adapted to attenuate pulsation of a fluid passing through the piping system equipped with the armature which is likely to be the source of pulsation in pumps, compressors, and like, of the equipment.
In the piping system of an industrial plant, there is generally provided such armature equipment as pumps, compressors, fuel burners, flow meters, etc., which are in practice likely to become a source of pulsation. In the construction of the piping system, particularly, in which there is incorporated a reciprocating compressor or compressors which become a source of pulsation to the system, there would occur a resonance when the characteristic frequency of a fluid passing through the piping system and that of the source of pulsation are so close to each other, that such a condition would naturally result in an undesirable variety of problems such as a reduction in the efficiency of the compressor, damage to armatures or other parts in the piping system due to the resultant vibratory motion thereof, etc.
In coping with this problem, there have been proposed various countermeasures for the prevention of such undesirable problems of pulsation in the piping system. More specifically, some practiced countermeasures are: (a) providing different characteristic frequencies of such sources of pulsation and of the fluid passing through the piping system by changing the effective length of the piping system; (b) providing an orifice constriction in the way of the piping system to absorb the pulsating energy in the form of fluid friction when passing therethrough; (c) providing a surge tank in the piping system; (d) providing branch-off piping in the system; (e) providing a surge tank at the leading end of such branch-off piping, and the like.
Despite the provision of such countermeasures in practice, however, in the case of (a) above, when the frequency of the source of pulsation changes and/or when the properties of the fluid changes, the problem of resonance would again disadvantageously occur, and in the case of (b), the provision of such an orifice or orifices within the piping system would be an obstacle not only for the pulsation wave, but also for the non-pulsating or constant streams in the system, thus resulting in an increase in power consumption of the pump units, compressors, etc. In the case of (c), a surge tank of a substantial capacity is required, which means an increase in the manufacturing cost and also in the maintenance cost of the piping system, while in the case of (d), it is disadvantageous that the pulsation attenuating effect may be lost with the changes in the characteristic frequency of the pulsating source and in the properties of the fluid in the system. Finally, in the case of (e), there is also the drawback of high cost required for the provision of a surge tank.